We are about to launch our forums that will allow for you to discuss beer, wine & cigars all in one place. We have our basic forum structure already set but we would love your input. What boards and topics do you want to see in the Beer, Wine & Cigar’s forum? For example, there will be boards for breweries, wineries, cigar makers, homebrew, etc. Thanks for your input and thanks for participating in the creation of the internet’s next and most comprehensive website on these overlapping passions.

1. Ask for Advise. Wine is one of the easiest items to get advise on before buying. If you’re buying from a wine shop then be sure to ask for help. At any good wine shop they will generally ask you for a few of your favorite tastes and smells or a few other similar questions and then begin to recommend some wines. Don’t be embarrassed to give a price range either. They will appreciate knowing where to start. Also, a lot of grocery stores with good wine sections are also getting into the game and hiring good help for the wine isle. Look for these people and ask them for advise. Sometimes these guys are just as knowledgeable and even more helpful than the wine store guys because they have less riding on each sale. As a last resort just do some online searching. A quick google search or a few minutes on a wine review site could be all you need. However, even though we want to become a great resource for you the personal attention of a local can go a long way.

2. Buy One Bottle at a Time. Hold back the temptation to buy a case to save some money or from buying one of every variety on your first few visits. As a new wine drinker you are just now introducing your palatte to a whole new world of taste and flavors. You are destined to have a few sharp turns as you figure out what you like. Then what are you going to do with the rest of the case or that pile of bottles that you have now determined you will never enjoy? Eventually you will get to the point where you are developing your palette but wait until you know where your headed to stock the cellar.

3. Buy Inexpensive Wine. You can’t impress your taste buds with a high dollar wine, they just don’t care. The reality is that at first you will probably not be able to distinguish the difference anyway. Even experieced wine drinkers can enjoy a solid $10-$25 wine so why waste your money if you don’t have to.

4. Buy Foreign Wine. You may be tempted to buy a wine just because you can understand the label. It’s not a bad thing but think of items such as fine watches, Hi-Fi stereo equipment and luxury sports cars. Yes, the US can make these items very well but they are known best for their connections to other countries. Wine is somewhat like that. Don’t avoid US wines but if you don’t look at wines from around the world you will be missing a large portion of the best wines available.

5. Go to Wine Tastings. There are far fewer and cheaper ways of finding wines you like then going to wine tastings. In alot of areas you can find low-cost or even free wine tastings at local wine shops, cultural and arts centers or resturants. Use these tastings as opportunities to eliminate wines from the buy list and add others. These events a lot of times can also be very educational and a great way to meet new people.

Cigars International has a great deal on eight premium cigars plus a small humidor for only $15. This offer expires on October 15, 2008. To get the special price, just follow the link in about.com’s Cigar Forum.

Here’s the copy from CI on the deal:

A first class, introductory humidor + cigar offer.If you like handmade cigars, you’re gonna love Cigars International! To prove it, I’ve compiled a sampler with 8 of the finest cigars in the world plus a free 20-capacity humidor for one super-low introductory price: instead of the normal retail of $85.31, I’m betting once you receive these outstanding cigars, together with our 52-page cigar catalog, you’ll become a lifetime customer. Now that’s an offer you can’t refuse!

First Class Humidor Sampler includes:
1 - 5 Vegas Gold Churchill (7″ x 50)
1 - Carlos Torano 1916 Cameroon Robusto (5.5″ x 52)
1 - Fonseca 5-50 (5″ x 50)
1 - Gurkha Connecticut Reserve Robusto #4 (6″ x 50)
1 - Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Belicoso Maduro (5.5″ x 52)
1 - Perdomo Slow-Aged Lot 826 Glorioso (6″ x 52)
1 - Perdomo Reserve Champagne ’R’ (5″ x 54)
1 - Pirate’s Gold #2 (6.5″ x 42)
1 - Cigar Mosaic Humidor II (20 Capacity)

Note: from time to time, a substitution may occur.

Amazon.com plans to launch a new website devoted exclusively to wine in the next month. Consumers in 25 states, constituting three-quarters of the U.S. population, will be able to buy wines at the site by the end of October, with expansion to other states planned for the future.

Here are two articles that give a bit more information on this new move by Amazon.

1. Wired’s article on Amazon’s new venture
2. Wine Spectator’s article breaking the news

Montecristo Villanueva
5 1/2 x 50
Natural
Dominican Republic

I stumbled onto this stick mearly by chance. While browsing one of the online dealers that I shop from occasionally, I noticed it in the ‘recommended’ area. They were selling it by the box, of 10. I forget the price, but it was in the neighborhood of $80 for the box. Anyway, I bought the box and went through it pretty quick, I’m currently into my second box.

All that to say, the first impression in appearance was very good, it’s cedar-wrapped in a sealed glass tube. Very smooth and cream-colored wrapper.

This relatively mild smoke had very good construction, as it had a even draw and smooth burn. I regularly enjoy this smoke. I think that’s obvious, since I’m on that second box.

8 out 10.

JM

With the number of wine tastings in the area seemingly to drop through the summer months why not have one of your own. You can have an inexpensive home wine tasting party at your home that might even be more fun and productive then a public one. You pick the wines & you feel more open to share your thoughts on the wines around friends.

You may choose to do a traditional wine tasting party as we will explain below or have some fun and mix it up. You may even decide to make it a regular thing. Some people I know have for years had a bi-monthly meal/wine tasting with friends. They have a short wine tasting with apatizers followed by a meal in which they finish off the wine they tasted.

If you already have home tastings please let us know your methods and your successes.

Here is a wine tasting method by about.com:

A Wine Tasting party is an ideal way to get friends and family together to learn about wine and experiment with new or unusual varietals. Whether you are merely pairing wines with specific cheeses, or doing a vertical or horizontal tasting, you are sure to notice new nuances in both red wines and white wines as a result of the focused tasting. Read on for practical steps to help you host a tip top tasting experience.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: 2-3 hours

Here’s How:

1. To begin your wine tasting party planning, you will need to decide what type of tasting you would like to host. There are many versions of wine tastings, from wine and cheese pairings to vertical, horizontal, price point and beyond. Types of Tastings Recommended Include:
   The Vertical Wine Tasting
   The Horizontal Wine Tasting
   Old World vs. New World Wine Tasting
   The Wine and Cheese Tasting
   The Wine and Chocolate Tasting
   The “Priceless” Wine Tasting
   The Price Point Wine Tasting
   The “Big Eight” Wine Tasting
2. Determine your guest list and send invites at least two weeks before your tasting (you may consider utilizing free online invites through: evite.com).
3. Design a tasting card that specifies the type of wine, the producing vineyard, the year and a brief description of the wine (usually found on the wine’s label). Make sure that each guest has their own tasting card to record the wine’s distinct appearance, aroma, flavor, and cheese pairing nuances.If you want to keep the tasting a bit more casual, simply supply guests with a pen and paper for them to jot down their own notes. Have them rate the wines - which wine did they like the best, least, etc.
4. To make your event a bit more challenging, offer a “blind tasting” experience. In this case, you still provide your guests with their individual tasting cards. However, you pour each wine without identifying the label (cover bottles with foil or a brown bag and mark with a number prior to serving), allowing them to incorporate all of their senses to identify the respective wines based on the labels’ descriptions. The guest that is able to identify the most wines correctly wins a prized bottle of wine or perhaps a book on the art of wine tasting.
5. Decorations for a wine tasting party can range from a white table cloth and candles to Old World, Tuscan faux paintings and vintage bottles scattered throughout your “tasting room.” In either case, remember to keep the atmosphere light and engaging. You may consider starting the evening with a bit of wine trivia, just to get the conversation rolling.
6. Still feel like you could use a bit more help in the planning and hosting of the Wine Tasting party? Then check out the SWILL® Wine Tasting Party Kit - includes tasting guidelines, fun invites, a step-by-step guide, wine bags, glass markers and of course, a corkscrew. [http://erclk.about.com/?zi=7/1j%5b8]Compare Prices of Tasting Party Kit[/link]

Tips:

1. Typically, when tasting wines, you will want to work from dry to sweet with white wines and progress from light to full-bodied with red wines. Also, it is ideal to start with younger wines and move to the more mature wines at the end. Have your guests sample each wine by itself, assessing the wine’s unique color, aroma and flavors.
2. The general rule of thumb for determining how much wine to pour per person is: 2 ounces of wine per glass, per wine for each tasting.
3. Providing plain bread and water between wines, allows for guests to cleanse their palate and sets them up to fully experience the next wine.

What You Need:

• Four to Six Wines
• Appetizers - you might consider offering some light munchies before the tasting
• Loaf of bread – provide plain bread for guests to cleanse palate between wines
• Wine glasses – one per guest
• Pitcher of water – for rinsing glasses and palates between wines
• Dump bucket – for discarding wine before next pouring
• Tasting cards – for describing and recording each wine tasted
• Aluminum foil or brown bags to cover wine bottles if you opt for blind tasting
• Pens and Paper
• Humor – encourage your guests to share their thoughts and humor on each wine

Here are a few more links to some methods & tips:

Wine Tasting Party | Top Two Types of Wine Tasting | Wine Score Sheets

How to Host a Wine-Tasting Party: Tips for a Wine Tasting Party …

Hosting a Wine Tasting Party: How to throw your own Wine Tasting …

Strat’s Place - How to Hold a Wine Tasting

by John Little

Maybe you’ve heard some of your beer loving friends lament an increase in craft beer prices, the current world-wide hop shortage and how the shortage has altered the character of their favorite beers.  A combination of factors, including a vast surplus of hops in the 90s, decreased hop farm acreage in the early 2000s and a devastating hail storm in Czechoslovakia and Slovenia in 2007 has led to hop price increases of as much as 500% for some varieties.  Other varieties simply can’t be found.  Hopheads around the world fear they won’t see their favorite Imperial IPAs on the market for at least a few years, until the market recovers.  Many craft brewers are being forced to reformulate their most popular hoppy beers, substituting alternate hop varieties for their “signature” varieties.

However, Sierra Nevada isn’t letting the hop shortage damage their reputation for producing some of the best craft beers in the U.S.  Last month, Sierra Nevada released its “Early Spring Beer,” an American version of an English Extra Special Bitter (ESB) that “combines the best of English tradition with West Coast style;” and, at 5.9% abv, the beer just barely escapes being criminal in Alabama, so Auburn residents are fortunate to be able to enjoy it.  For this brew, Sierra Nevada uses a blend of English and American malts and hops to produce a delicious and refreshing unfiltered ale with a reddish-copper hue, a unique rich and malty sweetness, an earthy spiciness as bitterness and a slight cedar and citrus aroma.

John Little is a healthcare attorney whose real passion is brewing beer.  If you’re interested in learning to brew your own, visit auburnbrewclub.org.

John Little | Auburn, Alabama | http://auburnbrewclub.org

Padron Anniversary 1964 Superior
42 x 6 1/2 Natural
Nicaragua

A number of my friends really enjoy Padron cigars, so I’ve heard nothing but good things about them. So I tried one. It was good, but I wasn’t impressed. Since then, I’ve continued to hear similar raves and reading good things about the Anniversary Series, constantly. So I decided that my next Padron experience would be one from the Anniversary line.

I found this particular one, in a shop over in Charleston, while visiting a few weeks ago. I picked it up, along with a couple of other sticks I’d been recently looking for. I knew it was supposed to be good, I just didn’t know how good. B

oy, was I in for an experience.

I can’t say enough good things about this cigar. It might just be the best non-cuban I’ve ever had, it’s certainly the best I’ve had since we started this site.

It lit with relative ease. The burn was even. The draw was smooth. The flavor was creamy and full, but not overbearing. Sound perfect? It just about was. I can’t wait to have another one of these.

I give it a 9.5 out of 10

-Jonathan